Docking stations for remote control and multimedia devices

ABSTRACT

A representative base unit for charging a remote controller and a multimedia device includes at least two docking stations for a remote controller and a multimedia device, wherein the at least two docking stations having charging slots that transfer power to the remote controller and the multimedia device for recharging; and a processing device that is electrically coupled to the docking stations for communicating with the remote controller and the multimedia device, wherein the processing device facilitates communication between the remote controller and the multimedia device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 61/101,296 filed Sep. 30, 2008, the entirety ofwhich application is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to universal remote control systems, andmore particularly pertains to a universal remote control system forproviding a multi-function multipurpose remote control with a basecharger.

BACKGROUND

Many remote control systems may be used to issue commands, from adistance, to televisions and other consumer electronic devices. Existingremote controls may be charged by small AAA and AA batteries, but suchbattery operated remote controls typically use disposable batteries thatare replaced when batteries are discharged. In addition, the remotecontrol may be placed where the user cannot find it, which can be veryfrustrating. Thus, a need exists to address this and other deficiencies.

SUMMARY

A representative base unit for charging a remote controller and amultimedia device includes at least two docking stations for a remotecontroller and a multimedia device, wherein the at least two dockingstations having charging slots that transfer power to the remotecontroller and the multimedia device for recharging; and a processingdevice that is electrically coupled to the docking stations forcommunicating with the remote controller and the multimedia device,wherein the processing device facilitates communication between theremote controller and the multimedia device.

Other systems, methods, features, and/or advantages of this disclosurewill be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description and be within the scopeof the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with referenceto the following drawings. The components in the drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, the reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. While several embodiments are described inconnection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit thedisclosure to the embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein. On thecontrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications, andequivalents.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rechargeable universal remote controlsystem for a remote controller and a multimedia device, such as, an iPodand/or MP3 and MP4 player;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a base unit, such as that shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a right side view of a base unit, such as that shown in FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a base unit, such as that shown in FIG. 1 andillustrates the various functions of the buttons on the remotecontroller;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a base unit, such as that shown in FIG.1; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a remote controller, such as that shownin FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary systems are first discussed with reference to the figures.Although these systems are described in detail, they are provided forpurposes of illustration only and various modifications are feasible.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rechargeable universal remote controlsystem 10 for a remote controller 30 and a multimedia device 40, suchas, an iPod, iPhone and/or MP3 and MP4 player. The rechargeableuniversal remote control system 10 comprises a base unit 20 havingdocking stations 22 (FIG. 2), 24 for a remote controller 30 and themultimedia device 40.

The remote controller 30 and multimedia device 40 may be positioned onthe base unit 20 such that the remote controller 30 and multimediadevice 40 may operationally engage docking stations 22, 24 of thedocking platforms 50, 60, respectively, for recharging. Thus, the baseunit 20 may charge the battery of the remote controller 30 andmultimedia device 40. Other base units have been disclosed such as U.S.Pat. No. 6,879,254, to Tarah N. Graham, which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Alternatively or additionally, the base unit 20 can include speakers 15and microphones 17 that are electrically coupled to the multimediadevice 40 for playing and receiving audio signals. For example, an audioplayer, such as an iPod or iPhone, can play stored audio signals throughthe speakers 15 of the base unit 20. In another example, the base unit20 having speakers 15 and microphones 17 can be use as a speakerphoneduring a telephone call of the iPhone or any other smartphones. The usercan press the button 84 to answer an incoming telephone call and beginspeaking through microphones 17.

A controller docking platform 50 of the base unit 20 includes a height50H that is approximately ½ of the height of the remote controller 30. Amultimedia device docking platform 60 of the base unit 20 is integrallyconnected to the base 52 of the controller docking platform 50 andextends horizontally to the right side of the controller dockingplatform 50. The multimedia device docking platform 60 includes a height60H that is approximately the ¼ of the height of the controller dockingplatform 50. The docking station 24 can hold the multimedia device 40such that a user controller 42 of the multimedia device 40 is above thetop surface 62 of the multimedia device docking platform 60.

Both docking platforms 50, 60 hold the remote controller 30 andmultimedia device 40, respectively, in an upright position within thedocking stations 22, 24, respectively. The docking stations 22, 24include charging ports (not shown) that provide power to the remotecontroller 30 and multimedia device 40 for recharging. The charging portof the docking stations 24 can also be used as a media interface thatfacilitates communication between the multimedia device, the base unit20, and the remote controller 30. The base unit 20 further includesmultimedia ports, such as, a Firewire™ port 80 and a universal serialbus (USB) port 70, that facilitates electrical connection between themultimedia device 40 and other multimedia devices (not shown) using theports 70, 80. The ports 70, 80 allow the base unit 20 to be able tocommunicate with the other multimedia devices and download files (data,music, etc.) to the multimedia device 40 or the remote controller 30. Acharging indicator light 82 is position in front of the base unit toilluminate either a green light or red light when the remote controller30 and/or multimedia device 40 are or are not recharging, respectively.A paging controller button 84 pages the remote controller 30 so that theremote controller 30 can respond with a flashing and/or illuminatinglight or make a sound to allow the user to find the remote controller30.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a base unit 20, such as that shown inFIG. 1. The front section 206 of the controller docking platform 50 hasa generally rectangular shape and includes the docking station 22positioned in the middle of the front section 206. The controllerdocking station 22 is a depression that is generally shaped in a letterV and conforms to the middle and lower portion of the remote controller30. The back portion of the base unit 20 includes a power port 222 thatelectrically couples to a power source (not shown) to provide power tothe base unit 20. The back portion of the base unit 20 further includesa stereo jack 224 that electrically couples the multimedia device 40 toan external speaker (e.g., home entertainment speaker system) forplaying audio signals. The external speaker can be used to play audiosignals of a song or a telephone call from the multimedia device 40.

The front section 206 and back section 208 of the controller dockingstation 22 converges toward the side ends 202, 204 of the controllerdocking platform 60. Each side end 202, 204 is flat and has a generallytriangular shape. The top width of the side ends 202, 204 is smallerthan the bottom width of the side ends 202, 204 of the controllerdocking platform 60

The multimedia device docking platform 60 is integrally connected to thelower portion at the right side and back side of the controller dockingplatform 50. The left end 210 of the multimedia device docking platform60 are integrally connected to the lower portion left side end 202 ofthe controller docking platform 50. The back section of the multimediadevice docking station 24 extends and curves away from the controllerdocking platform 50 beginning at the left end 210 of the multimediadevice docking platform 60 and towards the flat right end 212 of themultimedia device docking station 24. The front section of themultimedia device docking platform 60 curves toward the multimediadevice docking station 24 beginning at the front right side 214 of themultimedia device docking platform 60 and ends at the flat right end212. The multimedia device docking station 24 of the multimedia devicedocking platform 60 is generally in a shape of a rectangle and conformsto the lower portion of the multimedia device 40.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of a base unit 20, such as that shown inFIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3, both the controller and multimedia devicedocking platforms 50, 60 tilt right from bottom to top. The frontsection 206 of the controller docking platform 50 further includes aslight curve from the front bottom to the front top. The back section208 curves toward the front section 206 beginning at the top surface 62of the multimedia device docking platform 60 and ending at the topsurface of the controller docking platform 50.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a base unit 20, such as that shown in FIG. 1and illustrates the various functions of the buttons on the remotecontroller 30. The list of functions are as follows:

-   -   Power button 402: Turns product on and off (controls power on        #2)    -   Buttons 404A-H to control selected devices, such as, VCR, TV,        DVD, DVR, Cable, AUDIO Receiver, Satellite, and, CD, multimedia        device, Xbox, playstation, WIT    -   Learn button 406: Used to setup learning functions (learn other        remotes)    -   Code Search 408: Used for setup (search code for #2)    -   Input 410: Brings up the DVD Players Setup Menu    -   Marco Preset Channel 412: Works with digits (1-9) to program and        store up to 9 button-presses of your choice    -   Mute 414: Turns off the TV sound while the picture is remains    -   TV listing find 416: Replay Zones—searches TV listing by        category (DVR function)    -   Component Change 418: Change viewing setting on the TV such as        video 1, video 2, DVD, sat, etc    -   TV sleep 420: Turns off the TV after a period of 1 to 99 minutes    -   Channel Guide 422: Guide menu (cable, sat, dvr, etc. . . .)    -   Instant Playback 424: Catches you up with live broadcast (DVR        function)    -   Sub title/Closed Caption 426: TV closed Caption (if your TV has        this feature) or DVD subtitle toggle    -   Clear Functions 428: Used to exit menu    -   Channel Up 430: Changes the channels up    -   PIP control 432: TV picture-in-picture control    -   Page UP 434: scrolls thru the entire page up (instead of channel        by channel/used in guide menu—on cable & satellite)    -   Display 436: Displays/selects on-screen channel information, etc    -   Volume Down 438: volume turned down . . . controls        DVD/CD/IPOD/MULTIMEDIA (MP3/MP4/ETC) track        selections—DVD/CD/IPOD/MULTIMEDIA (MP3/MP4/ETC) track skips        up/down (in DVD and Sat modes)    -   Volume UP 440: volume turned up . . . controls        DVD/CD/IPOD/MULTIMEDIA (MP3/MP4/ETC) track        selections—DVD/CD/IPOD/MULTIMEDIA (MP3/MP4/ETC) track skips        up/down (in DVD and Sat modes)    -   Enter 442: execution button, used to select    -   Last Channel 444: switches channels on TV to the last/previous        channel    -   Swap 446: Swaps TV PIP screens    -   Page Down 448: scrolls thru the entire page down (instead of        channel by channel/used in guide menu—on cable & satellite)    -   Channel Down 450: Changes the channels down    -   Channels 452: Enter numbers for direct channel selection. Some        products require enter to be pressed after channel selection    -   DVD/VCR/IPOD/MULTIMEDIA (MP3/MP4/ETC) Functions 454: fast        forward (2×& above), rewind, pause, play, stop    -   Aspect Ratio 456: Change between viewing ratios    -   Picture Zoom 458: Zoom picture    -   DVD Menu: Takes you to the DVD menu    -   Charge/Power indicator 460: shows that the remote controller is        charging and how much power/battery life is remaining on remote    -   Go Now-access 482 to the internet and weather features    -   On Demand-Video on demand 483 (offer by cable companies)    -   Blue Tooth Enable/button and Indicator 462: shows when Blue        tooth is connected. It syncs to other blue tooth compatible        products when the button is pressed    -   DVR/VCR Record button (not shown): Record onto the DVR or VCR

The remote control 30 can communicate with the multimedia device 40using infrared, radio frequency (RF) and Bluetooth technology. At leastone of the infrared, radio frequency (RF) and Bluetooth technology canbe implemented into the base unit 20. The infrared sensor can be locatedon the front-bottom-center of the base unit 20. The remote controller 30can connect automatically via Bluetooth when placed on its base unit 20.Then once the two device (e.g., remote controller 30 and multimediadevice 40) synchronizes, the Bluetooth light can beginblinking/illuminating. Once the synchronicity has completed, the twodevice (e.g., remote controller 30 and multimedia device 40) cancommunicate between each other. All the information from the multimediadevice 40 can appear on a display (not shown) of the remote controller30. The infrared sensor or Radio frequency (RF) signals, can enable theuser to control the actual multimedia device 40, such as, play, rewind,fast forward, pause, shuffle and stop. The base unit 20 can becompatible for various MP3 players, such as, Apple IPOD/MULTIMEDIA(MP3/MP4/etc), Creative Zen, Microsoft Zune, Samsung, YP-P2, SanDiskSansa, Sony, COBY MP and more.

The following is a description of the operation between the remotecontroller 30/multimedia device 40 and the base unit 20. The remotecontrol 30 charges while on docking station and lighting features remainoff until a remote's button is motioned. The multimedia device 40operates as disclosed in its owner's manual. Then once the multimediadevice 40 is placed on the multimedia device docking station 24 themultimedia device 40 starts to synchronize via Bluetooth with the remotecontroller 40. The multimedia device 40 also charges via the mediainterface at the multimedia device docking station 24.

Bluetooth can be built into the base unit 20. The remote controller 30communicates with the base unit 20. The information is then relayed tothe multimedia device 40 via the media interface. When the multimediadevice 40 has completed its synchronization with the remote controller30, the Bluetooth light can then be constant and cease blinking. If theBluetooth does not synchronize properly, hold and press the remotecontrol's Bluetooth button for 5 seconds and point it directly at theinfrared sensor square located on the base unit. Next, release thebutton and when the Bluetooth light cease blinking, it has synchronizedwith the remote controller 30. With Bluetooth implemented in the remotecontroller 30, the remote controller 30 can control car stereos or anydevices that uses Bluetooth.

The multimedia device 40 sends information to the remote controller 30via the media interface and the Bluetooth. Bluetooth then transmits thedata from multimedia device 40 to the display of the remote controller30. The display can display information being received from themultimedia device 40.

Once the multimedia device 40 and remote controller 30 have completedsynchronizing and the Bluetooth light is constantly lit, the remotecontroller 30 can be used to control the multimedia device 40. Theremote controller 30 and IPOD multimedia device 40 can automaticallysynchronize.

The remote controller 30 can control the multimedia device 40 responsiveto pressing an MP3 button on the remote controller 30. Once MP3 buttonis pressed, information can start to transmit from the multimedia device40 to the display of the remote controller 30. A user can use thecontrol buttons on the remote controller 30 to control multimedia device40.

A user can view the playlist on the display of the remote controller30.Since the remote controller 30 can control the multimedia device 40 viathe base unit 20, the display on the remote controller 30 can displayother information related to the audio signals, such as, title, artist,and genre of the audio song, among others.

The following is a description of the features of the base unit 20. Thebase unit 20 can include the following components: 1) Bluetooth, 2)Infrared, 3) Speaker port, 4) USB port, 5) media interface for MP3player, 6) Infrared sensor, 7) Power outlet, 8) Fire wire port, 9)Control Docking Station, 10) Charging light indicator, 11) Pagingcontrol button, and 12) multimedia device docking station. The base unit20 includes a circuit board that electrically connects to the remotecontroller 30 via wires and/or Bluetooth. The base unit 20 is one unitwith two docking stations 22, 24; one for the remote controller 30 andthe other for multimedia device 40. Both the remote controller 30 andbase unit 20 can be fitted with removable face plate that customized orpersonalized to the liking of the user.

The following is a description of the features of multimedia device 40.The multimedia device 40 operates as usual respective to its owner'smanual. The base unit 20 and remote controller 30 communicate betweeneach other, transmitting signals to the multimedia device 40 via theinfrared, radio frequency (RF) and Bluetooth technology.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a base unit 20, such as that shown inFIG. 1. The controller docking platform 50 includes a locate button 505that a user can push to instruct the base unit 10 to locate the remotecontroller 30. The locate button sends a signal to a transmitter 510instructing the transmitter 510 to transmit a locate signal to theremote controller 30. The locate signal can be generated by amicroprocessor 570 and transmitted to the transmitter 510. The remotecontroller 30 receives the locate signal and, for example, flashes lightfrom an LED or makes a sound (e.g., beeps or plays music) to aid theuser in locating the remote controller 30.

The controller docking platform 50 further includes contacts 520 forelectrically coupling the remote controller 30 with a charging unit 515,which facilitates charging the batteries of the remote controller 30.The green and right lights 530, 535 are connected to the charging unit515 that illuminates the lights 530, 535 to indicate that the batteriesare fully charges or the batteries have insufficient power,respectively.

The remote controller 30 can communicate with the microprocessor 570 viathe contacts 520 to gather and process information related to the remotecontroller 30. Similarly, the multimedia device 40 can communicate withthe microprocessor 570 via contacts 560 to gather and processinformation related to the multimedia device 40. For example, the remotecontroller 30 can be synchronized with the multimedia device 40 when theremote controller 30 and the multimedia device 40 are docking on thebase unit 10. The microprocessor 570 receives information from both theremote controller 30 and the multimedia device 40 via the contacts 520,560. After synchronization is completed, the remote controller 30 cancontrol the multimedia device 40 using a Bluetooth module 565 and/or aninfrared receiver 575.

The infrared receiver 575, a Bluetooth module 565, and RF receiver (notshown) can receive instruction signals from the remote controller 30 andfacilitate controlling the multimedia device 40 on the base unit 10. Theinfrared receiver 575 transmits the received instruction signals to themicroprocessor 570, which processes the instruction signals andinstructs the multimedia device 40 based on the instruction signals. Themicroprocessor 570 is electrically coupled to audio output 540, USBinput 545 and Firewire input 550, which connects the multimedia device40 to audio receivers/speakers and devices that can communicate via USBand Firewire.

The multimedia device 40 can electrically couple to a charging unit 555via the contacts 560. The charging unit 555 facilitates charging thebatteries of the multimedia device 40. The green and red lights 530, 535are connected to the charging unit 555 that illuminates the lights 530,535 to indicate that the batteries are fully charges or the batterieshave insufficient power, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a remote controller 30, such as thatshown in FIG. 1. A receiver 610 is positioned in the remote controller30 for receiving the locate signal from the transmitter 510 of the baseunit 10. A microprocessor 625 is positioned in the remote controller 30.The receiver 610 is operationally coupled to the microprocessor 625. Aspeaker 620 is operationally coupled to the microprocessor 625 forproducing an audio signal from the remote controller 30 when thereceiver 610 receives the locate signal from the transmitter 510,mentioned above.

A light source 615 is operationally coupled to the microprocessor 625for illuminating when the receiver 610 receives the locate signal fromthe transmitter 510. The remote control 30 can include a light source615. The microprocessor 625 is further coupled to inputs 655, such asoperational buttons that were described in FIG. 4. The operational keyscan be configured into groups for controlling particular devicesincluding TV, cable VCR, DVD, stereo and video receivers, satellitereceivers, and audio equipment, playstation, xbox, or alike. Based onthe inputs, the microprocessor 625 determines which particular controlunits 630, 635, 640, 645 to use to control a particular device.Responsive to determining the control unit 630, 635, 640, 645 to use,the microprocessor 625 communicates with the determined control unit630, 635, 640, 645, instructing the control unit 630, 635, 640, 645 totransmit control signals to the particular device using an infraredtransmitter 650 based on the input 655. The remote controller 30includes memory 622, which can store music or various sounds that can beused to locate the remote controller. The memory 622 can further storesynchronized information associated with the multimedia device 40.

Alternatively or additional, the remote control 30 can communicatewirelessly with home electronic devices other than televisions andDVD/CD players that were previously mentioned, such as, appliances,lighting, garage door system, security system, and HVAC systems, amongothers. The remote control 30 can be implemented with Z-Wave®technology, created by Zensys, Inc. It should be noted that themicroprocessors 570, 625 can include any custom made or commerciallyavailable processor, a central processing unit (CPU) or an auxiliaryprocessor among several processors, a semiconductor based microprocessor(in the form of a microchip), or a macroprocessor.

The memory 622, 573 can include any one or a combination of volatilememory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM,etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, etc.). The memory622, 573 normally comprises various programs (in software and/orfirmware) including an operating system (O/S). The O/S controls theexecution of programs, and provides scheduling, input-output control,file and data management, memory management, and communication controland related services.

The systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented in software,hardware, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the systemand/or method is implemented in software that is stored in a memory andthat is executed by a suitable microprocessor (μP) situated in acomputing device. However, the systems and methods can be embodied inany computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Such instructionexecution systems include any computer-based system,processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch and executethe instructions from the instruction execution system. In the contextof this disclosure, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means thatcan contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program foruse by, or in connection with, the instruction execution system. Thecomputer readable medium can be, for example, but not limited to, asystem or propagation medium that is based on electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor technology.

Specific examples of a computer-readable medium using electronictechnology would include (but are not limited to) the following: anelectrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires; a randomaccess memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory). A specific example usingmagnetic technology includes (but is not limited to) a portable computerdiskette. Specific examples using optical technology include (but arenot limited to) optical fiber and compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM).

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized thatthe optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, toinclude variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and mannerof operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obviousto one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to thoseillustrated in the drawings and described in the specification areintended to be encompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

1. A base unit for charging a remote controller and a multimedia devicecomprising: at least two docking stations for a remote controller and amultimedia device, wherein the at least two docking stations havingcharging slots that transfer power to the remote controller and themultimedia device for recharging; and a processing device that iselectrically coupled to the docking stations for communicating with theremote controller and the multimedia device, wherein the processingdevice facilitates communication between the remote controller and themultimedia device.
 2. The base unit of claim 1, further comprising astereo jack that electrically couples the multimedia device to a speakerfor playing audio signals.
 3. The base unit of claim 1, furthercomprising a multimedia port that facilitates electrical connectionbetween the multimedia device and the other multimedia devices, whereinthe multimedia port facilitates communication between the multimediadevice and the other multimedia devices.
 4. The base unit of claim 1,wherein the multimedia port facilitates electrical connection between aspeaker and the multimedia device.
 5. The base unit of claim 1, furthercomprising adaptors that engages the docking station for the multimediadevice, wherein the adaptors allows various sizes of other multimediadevices to fit in the multimedia docking station.
 6. The base unit ofclaim 1, wherein the remote controller controls the multimedia devicethrough the base unit to operate the various features of the multimediadevice.
 7. The base unit of claim 1, further comprising a speaker thatreceives audio signals from the multimedia device.
 8. The base unit ofclaim 7, further comprising a microphone that sends audio signals to themultimedia device.
 9. The base unit of claim 1, further comprisingBluetooth technology that enables the base unit to communicate with anyBluetooth-capable devices.
 10. The base unit of claim 1, furthercomprising data storage that stores digital data from theBluetooth-capable devices.
 11. The base unit of claim 1, furthercomprising data storage that stores digital data from the multimediadevice.
 12. The base unit of claim 1, further comprising a USB port thatfacilitates transferring digital data from the base unit to data storagedevices, wherein the data storage devices include SD memory card, mircoSD memory card, mini SD memory card, compact flash card, xD SD memorycard, and Sony SD memory card.
 12. The base unit of claim 1, furthercomprising interchangeable face plates that covers the front surface ofthe base unit or the remote controller.
 13. The base unit of claim 1,wherein the remote controller includes a display that displays at leasta portion of digital data from the multimedia device, wherein the remotecontroller communicates with the multimedia device via Bluetoothtechnology.